BBC: Seaplane crashes off Miami Beach
A plane carrying 16 people has crashed into water near Miami Beach in Florida, killing at least 12 people, US Coast Guard officials have said.
Fourteen passengers and two crew were on the seaplane, believed to fly regularly to and from the Bahamas.
The craft crashed into Miami's main shipping channel shortly before 1500 local time (2000 GMT).
Scuba divers, speedboats and helicopters are combing the crash site, trying to rescue any survivors.
Witnesses told local television that the airplane seemed to explode in the sky before it fell into Government Cut, the entry to the Port of Miami.
"There was a huge explosion in the sky, a big ball of smoke," eyewitness Frank Amadeo told local television, Reuters reports.
"It just sort of spiralled downward," he added.
The propeller-driven Chalk's Ocean Airways plane, equipped with pontoons for taking off and landing on water, crashed just off the southern tip of Miami Beach.